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Philology Matters

Volume 2020 Issue 2 Article 4

6-20-2020

NATIONAL SPECIFICITY OF AMERICAN SATIRICAL SHORT STORIES

Lola Jalilova Senior Teacher Bukhara State University, Bukhara, Uzbekistan

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Recommended Citation Jalilova, Lola Senior Teacher (2020) "NATIONAL SPECIFICITY OF AMERICAN SATIRICAL SHORT STORIES," Philology Matters: Vol. 2020 : Iss. 2 , Article 4. DOI: 10.36078/987654434 Available at: https://uzjournals.edu.uz/philolm/vol2020/iss2/4

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by 2030 Uzbekistan Research Online. It has been accepted for inclusion in Philology Matters by an authorized editor of 2030 Uzbekistan Research Online. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 2020 Vol. 32 No. 2 Philology Matters / ISSN: 1994-4233 LITERATURE CRITICAL STUDIES ФМ Uzbek State World Languages University DOI: 10. 36078/987654434

Lola Jalilova Лола Жалилова Senior Teacher, Department of , Бухоро давлат университети Bukhara State University Инглиз адабиёти кафедраси катта ўқитувчиси

NATIONAL SPECIFICITY OF AMERICAN АМЕРИКА КИЧИК САТИРИК SATIRICAL SHORT STORIES ҲИКОЯЛАРИНИНГ МИЛЛИЙ ХУСУСИЯТИ ANNOTATION АННОТАЦИЯ The article discusses distinguishing features of the American humor and . National pe- Мақола Америка ҳазил-мутойибаси ва са- culiarities of American satirical short stories are тирасига, шунингдек, уларнинг ўзига хос хусу- analyzed via examples of the works of American сиятларини ўрганишга бағишланган. Муаллиф short-story . The main attributes of satire, сатиранинг асосий хусусиятлари, унинг келиб its history, as well as the specifics of the чиқиши, жанрлари каби жиҳатларини кўриб чиқади ҳамда сатирик новеллани оммалашти- are considered. The phenomena of satirical риш феноменини таҳлил қилади. Шунингдек, short story popularity in America is analyzed. Sty- ХХ аср бошларида америкалик ёзувчилар томо- listic devices, comic creation means, implemented нидан стилистик услублар ва комедия яратиш- in the works of the XX century American writers да бошқа воситалардан фойдаланиш маҳорати are distinguished. ҳақида фикр юритади. The artistic means used by the masters of Америкалик сатира усталари фойдалана- American satire are diverse. Here we find noto- диган бадиий воситалар хилма-хил таниқли rious cartoon, and psychological analysis with a карикатура ва сатирик изоҳ билан психологик satirical tint, and , and elements of "wild таҳлил, гротеск ва “ёввоий ҳазил” элементла- humor". Writers use hyperbole, satire, and parody рини ўрганиб, ёзувчиларнинг нисбатан сал- to express their negative attitude towards capital- бий муносабатини билдириш учун гипербо- ist America. In satirical short stories, all aspects of ла, сатира ва пародиялардан фойдаланиши, сатирик новеллаларда Америка ҳаётининг American life are mercilessly ridiculed: politics, барча жабҳалари шафқатсиз масхара қилиши law, religion, journalism, and literature. The article таъкидланади. Мақолада ХХ аср америкалик shows that for American authors of the twentieth муаллифлар учун комикслардан сюжет, ха- century, the use of comic at the , and рактер ва жумлалар даражасида фойдаланиш sentence levels is most characteristic, while the ўзига хос эканлиги, мураккаб иборалар эса expression of the comic at the level of colloca- камроқ ишлатилганлиги кўрсатилган. Амери- tion is less involved. A typical feature of American ка ҳикояларининг ўзига хос хусусияти сюжет short stories is the construction of the story, where қурилиши бўлиб, ҳар доим парадоксал, кутил- a sharpened plot is necessarily present, leading to маган ечим топишга олиб келади. a paradoxical, unexpected ending. Мақолада экспозиция сатиранинг асосий The paper examines the specifics of satirical атрибути эканлиги ва сатира ишончга ва кул- short stories, which is based on the original con- гига асосланганлиги, муаллифнинг кулги ёр- дамида нуқсонларни аниқлаб бериш таъкидла- cept of the reflected in his satirical works. нади. Тасвирланган объектга нисбатан салбий The article demonstrates that exposure is the main муносабат ва тасвирланган салбий хусусиятлар attribute of satire, and the basis of satire is reproof ошкор этадиган ижобий идеалнинг мавжудли- and laughter, with the help of laughter authors ex- ги сатиранинг ўзиги хос хусусияти эканлиги pose shortcomings, human vices. Thus, the article кўрсатиб берилади. develops and introduces a characteristic feature Муаллиф комиксни эстетик категория сифа- of satire, which is a negative attitude to the im- тидаги матн ифодаси ҳамда ХХ аср бошларида 40 E-ISSN: 2181-1237 2020 Vol. 32 No. 2 Series: Literature Critical Studies ages and object, at the same time, the presence of яшаган америкалик муаллифларнинг сатирик a positive ideal, against which negative features of ва ҳазил-мутойбага асосланган асарларида images are revealed. матни шакллантиришнинг ҳал қилувчи омили Thus, the author states that comic as an aes- эканлигини таъқидлайди. thetic category manifests itself at different levels Kaлит сўзлар: сатира, ҳажвий жамият, of the text and is a determining factor in text for- ахлоқий ва эстетик тамойиллар, Америка ма- данияти, ақл, таъсир, бўрттириш (гипербола), mation in satirical-humorous works of American фольклор, урф-одатлар. authors of the early XX century. Key words: satire, humor, human society, ethical and aesthetic principles, American culture, wit, effect, exaggeration, , traditions.

INTRODUCTION It is difficult to establish at what stage of development and for what reasons persons began to joke and what were their first jokes. However, it is well known that in the first months of life, a child begins to smile; at first, it seems, without any reason. Soon enough, a sense of humor also makes itself felt. Calling from time to time the cat drawn in the “dog”, and the dog- “pig”, getting a lot of pleasure from the reaction of adults, trying to explain who is who in reality, a little person wins a very important victory over a new stranger, full of strange and incomprehensible objects of the world: he is already so oriented in it, that he allows himself to deliberately "con- fuse" some of his realities. For all its “frivolity”, humor is a serious condition for the normal functioning of a human society and has a truly magical effect. A timely joke word helps to bear the pain of resentment and the bitterness of failure. A sense of humor is not among the senses without which a person is not able to function normally (such as vision, hearing, ability to think), but it would hardly be an exaggeration to assume that a person endowed with a sense of humor sees, in some cases, a little more and hears a little better. MAIN PART Enjoying a special kind of ability to destroy the usual images of everyday life in the space of comic and create new constructions (pleasure, partly rooted in the realization that “destruction” occurs only in the imagination and you can always return everything to its place), a person thereby exercises those qualities and abili- ties that underlie “serious” creative activity. A satirical view of the world is inherent in a person both in everyday life and in the field of art, manifesting itself not only in “special” satirical genres: epigram, anecdote, feuilleton, caricature, pamphlet, parody, , , but penetrating into the and the poem, in genre of painting and a song. A person who enters the realm of satirical worldview ridicules primarily modern evil, or the “abnormality” of the past, which is still relevant today. Moreover, not only the most significant defects of reality are exposed, but also at least the "little things in life" that prevent people from living normally.

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“In order for the satire to be truly satire and to achieve its goal, it is necessary, firstly, that it makes the reader feel the ideal from which its creator is sent, and, sec- ondly, that it clearly understands the subject against which directed its sting". In these words of Saltykov-Shchedrin, the main principle of the satirical world- view is defined: the satirist sees in the surrounding life something that does not fit into the framework of his idea of what​​ life should be. His sense of an ideal norm of being is unusually keen. According to Hegel, a satirist in literature with sharp colors “de- picts the contradiction of the real world to what a virtuous person should be” [Hegel Georg.,1969; 326]. But although each author has a completely individual idea of ​​a “virtuous man”, and the ideal of life itself is different in different cultural and histori- cal conditions, its meaning remains the same for different eras – it is an ideal of a natural, “unspoiled” life. It becomes clear in the satirical work “from the opposite”, in to what the author shows. So, when Gogol in “Dead Souls” depicts the existence of people who “freely burden the earth”, it is clear that his ideas about a “right” life are the opposite of that depicted. The satirical ideal is most often present in the text only potentially, like a dream of such a world order where harmony and orderliness reign. It is not described in detail, since a positive plan of being requires substantiated evidence, while a satire does not fundamentally prove, but only indicates, does not explain that evil is evil, but demonstrates this evil. Satirical argumentation, although it sometimes imitates logical evidence (as Boileau did in his poetic , for example), but operates not with it, but with “viv- id” examples. Therefore, in satirical works, editing is widely used. A witty enumera- tion of the negative properties of the “accused” hero or variations of one or another vice, an image of a “gallery” of negative characters, “mounting” episodes from the life of the ridiculed hero, overlapping episodes from the satirically illuminated history of the country or even humanity can also be observed in the poetic satire of Juvenal, Boileau , Cantemir, and in the "Dead Souls" of Gogol, and in the "Island of Penguins" by A. France [Literatura SSHA ХХ vekа.,1978; 413]. Installation to a certain extent is deliberate and rational. But this does not at all suggest that the basis of satirical conviction is only a cold calculation of the mocking reason. No less important is the feeling, "heart heat" of the satirist. That is, the satirist promises “abnormality of life” not only from the social or ethical side (“love of virtue”), but also from the aesthetic side (“respect for everything beautiful”). The combination of these two sides, the combination of the needs of good and beauty determine the main intonation of the author; his position is a noble feeling of indignation, contempt for what he ridicules, because the basis of "noble" emotions is a combination of ethical and aesthetic principles. The general meaning of this posi- tion is inherent in satirists of various eras – from Juvenal to Mayakovsky, provided, of course, that “virtuous” and beautiful were understood at different times not the same thing. Satire in literature seeks to infect the reader with his noble indignation. The au- 42 2020 Vol. 32 No. 2 Series: Literature Critical Studies thor, like the Andersen boy, who was not the first to be afraid to notice that “the king is naked”, points to social or evil to people who have suffered this evil and do not want to notice how abnormal it is. The satirist is trying, as it were, to restore the natural state of things. Not for nothing, that for a long time the main task of any satire was the correction of and the eradication of social deficiencies. This task is more or less included in the goals of satirical works of later time: such, for example, are Zoshchenko’s stories, satirical poems and plays by Mayakovsky, and modern newspaper feuilletons. The satirist was even compared to a skilled sur- geon, "cutting off growths and letting the probe into infectious wounds" (Vyazemsky). Moreover, most importantly, his “bitter” medicine is the truth. This "medicine" acts only with the help of another, no less important "drug" – with the help of laughter. It is he, who distinguishes satire in literature from other ways of critical understanding of life. A special combination of the author’s emotions is when, mocking, he can say to himself: “I cry in the heart of malevolent” (Kantemir). But no matter what feelings the writer possesses, there is always an impen- etrable wall between him and his hero. The hyperbolic characteristic is characteristic of satire from different eras: both Tartuffe’s painters, and Shchedrin’s Judas Golovlev, and Malchish-Plohish Gaidar, and Prisypkin, and Optimistenko Mayakovsky – the characters are fundamentally inferior, with sharply “protruding” negative features. What is satire in literature? It, as it were, displays its heroes on public display, on the stage. Their actions and thoughts are often brought to the grotesque. A satirical , a satirical interpretation of a character, a satirical “in- jection” of small genre – an epigram, a parody, a fable – phenomena are always acute. However, for new generations, the polemic passion of the satirist becomes secondary. And then, if there was nothing behind the image, except for exposing the modern writer to the "inconvenience of life", the author cannot "claim to be higher than me- diocre and very fleeting" (Saltykov-Shchedrin). If, as happens with great artists, the satire explores complex ethical, social, aes- thetic, philosophical tasks, then a work with a satirical fervor invariably acquires mul- tidimensionality and lives not only in the minds of contemporaries, but also in the memory of posterity. A special relation to the comic, the aesthetic value of which for the American is an indisputable fact, characterizes American culture. The ability to joke, appreci- ate the comic has become one of the criteria for evaluating the human person in the United States. As for literature, there is practically no single work in which the American writer, to one extent or another, did not use an element of the comic. The specifics of the genre puts special demands on the author. He should not only have the ability to build , describe the characters, the author should have a sufficient supply of wit, jokes, since the reader’s interest in this case is held precisely by his ability to create comic and witty. This applies to the special dynamics of the plot, and to the specific of personages, a special language and style. Moreover, the author’s personality and his/her emotional assessment of a par- ticular phenomenon a special role here. There cannot even be an external objec- 43 Series: Literature Critical Studies 2020 Vol. 32 No. 2 tivity of the narrative. It is always subjective due to the special relationship between the author and the reader. First, you should know that satire at the beginning of its appearance was a cer- tain lyrical genre. It was a poem, small in volume, the plot of which contained a mock- ery of certain persons or events. Satire as a genre arose in Roman literature. The word "satire" comes from the Latin name of mythical creatures, demigods, half-animals – satyrs. It is also associated with the word satura, which meant a dish of hash in common people, which indicated a mixture of various sizes (a saturnic , along with Greek sizes) and the presence in the satire of a wide variety of of various facts and phenomena, in contrast to other lyrical genres. Exposure is the main attribute of satire. The basis of satire is reproof and laugh- ter, with the help of laughter the author exposes shortcomings, human vices. A char- acteristic feature of satire is a negative attitude to the image, object and, at the same time, the presence of a positive ideal, against which negative features of the image are revealed. The genres of satire are diverse: satirical novel, satirical , comedy, epigram, anecdote, satirical feuilleton, caricature. The universally recognized legisla- tor of literary rules, Boileau, in his treatise “Poetic Art”, writes that the genre of satire is more necessary to society than an ode. Satirical genres of literature are genres in which the main thing is to generate laughter from the reader. Usually works made in small satirical genres, or even short and concise – such as a joke, the short stories by R. Benchley and J. Thurber are just as short. The history of satire is very ancient, although it is probably not entirely appro- priate to say that satire was born then and then. In fact, satire appeared when a person began to laugh. Satire was not as popular in Greece as it fell in love with Rome. In ancient Rome, there was even a certain caste of people who were called satyrs. In Greece, the term satire meant – "a mixture of different". Often they spoke like that about unsuccessful theatrical performances when they had an intricate plot and some ridiculous troubles – "it's just a satire." The term itself did not have a positive connotation, but gradually everything that was very funny was called satire. The main purpose of the satirical work is to expose the vicious, negative sides of a man. Roman authors believed that only by laughing at their vices they could be de- feated. Actually, a story, a short story, and even a novel can be satirical, the problem is that it is difficult to keep the reader ready for laughter for a long time, so these are often small stories. Among the well-known satirists of the twentieth century, Ameri- can short story writers James Thurber and Robert Benchley occupy a special place. Humor is not only a harmless game as sometimes it is also a weapon from which is not easy to find protection. When the truth of a particular judgment is called into question by arguments of logic and common sense, then counter products of the same order can be put forward in response. The ironic commentary playfully destroys what the unsmiling intellect dili- gently worked on, constructs a completely new coordinate system where logic and 44 2020 Vol. 32 No. 2 Series: Literature Critical Studies common sense do not always help: it is known how difficult it is to defend a particu- lar point of view if the opponent instead of “serious” deny ironically agrees with it. Laughter aimed at moral, religious, social, political flaws always possessed consider- able strength. Laughter has long been one of the few but sure privileges of the poor and op- pressed, who in a sharp word, in a mischievous joke, impudent couplets took a kind of revenge on the world of social lack of freedom and injustice. In the element of mocking, the farm laborer became the master, and the master, the object of laughter, became his slave. There are many shades of laughter – good-natured and sarcastic, encouraging and angrily stigmatizing, loud laughter "from the heart" and a thin, barely noticeable smile. Laughter amuses and convicts. It acts as an instrument of knowledge. “Humor itself is an intelligence ability: the intellect learns something, and then evaluates what it knows, looks at what it costs and what it deserves”, notes art critic N. Dmitrieva. with which the intellect is “strict” not inclined to play, cope with difficulty and even prefer not to notice, to pretend that there is nothing at all” [Dmitrieva, N., 1977;118]. Humor lies in wait, catches by surprise. It is “obliged” to surprise: obviousness and predictability exclude a laughable reaction (and listening to even a very good joke for a second time is not so interesting). The ability to condense an increased amount of information compared to ordinary speech in minimal units of text partly brings humor to : it is not by chance that in either case an attempt to convey the content “in your own words” not only leads to the loss of this unique content, but also creates an unplanned comic effect. The embodiment of non-standard, humor realizes itself in the fight against all kinds of stereotypes – in behavior, thinking, and art. It constantly searches for and exposes to the public those inconsistencies that elude the attention of lovers of unam- biguous judgments and ideas. These discrepancies can arise between form and con- tent, theory and practice, between established ideas about an object and phenomenon and their real meaning. In serious humor, it is always ready to notice the amusing, in the logical and striving to put the whole variety of reality into a rigid scheme it finds it absurd – and on the contrary, outwardly absurd can be declared reasonable, and seemingly contra- dictory – whole. “We come to the conclusion,” N. Dmitrieva notes, “that the humor- seeker of deviations and quirks is itself a rather bizarre angle of view of the world. Its spectrum combines the possibilities of various experiences — fun and bit- terness, cruelty and tenderness, denial and affirmation, and, finally, sober and phantasmagoria” [Dmitrieva, N., 1977;121]. The enemy of one-sidedness, humor points to the complex, contradictory but integral character of the world. Humor is considered a broader concept than satire. In fact, humor underlies the satirical reflec- tion of reality, without satire humor is impossible. A comedian may not be a satirist. And attempts to draw a clear line between humorous and satirical laughter are far from always successful: very often humor and satire exist in close unity. Humor is a universal phenomenon, and at the same time, deeply national. The general laws of a 45 Series: Literature Critical Studies 2020 Vol. 32 No. 2 humorous attitude are manifested in how and what people are joking in various parts of the globe, but this general is realized in concrete forms determined by the charac- teristics of a national character, cultural traditions, and social structure. Of course, we can only talk about prevailing trends and main directions. Not at all excluding deviations. Let us try to highlight at least the most general outlines of the phenomenon that is called American humor. For those who in ancient times left Europe and set off to seek happiness over- seas, America was an unfamiliar world that was to be re-mastered. The new continent, with its vast expanses, exuberant abundance of , opened up truly limitless pos- sibilities for the brave, cheerful, and hardworking. In the humor of the first American settlers, the desire for hyperbole is distinct, a special oral genre of “tall tale” is emerging with its rudely simple-hearted element of playing with a world of obvious, but not yet realized opportunities. The reality, not mediated by a complex system of social relations, moral precepts and dogmas, seemed to the inhabitants of the frontier surprisingly plastic, ready to submit to any manifestation of human will and imagination. Exaggeration (overstatement) becomes an important "family trait" of Ameri- can humor and turns out to be a learned literary tradition. A peculiar playful polemic arises with the restraint and understatement that has traditionally been associated with British humor. Humor is, by its nature, a revelator of clichés and stereotypes, and since the ideologists of bourgeois America supplied the “ready truths” of ordinary Americans in abundance, there were always plenty of targets for . “We laugh more ac- rimoniously,” wrote American literary critic J. Bier, “for we live in America, where pretense, demagogy, sentimental clichés are in much wider use than anywhere else” [Bier.J., 1968; 21]. It was said very categorically, but not without reason. In America, where opti- mism has long been a sign of "one hundred percent Americanism," a kind of evidence of trustworthiness, humor with its constant "contrary" often and indeed acquired a gloomy-pessimistic hue (even when it was not directly satirical), which is especially characteristic of humor of the twentieth century. Brevity and parody are the most important principles for organizing comic speech. Hence, American humorists often use mocking imitation of those types and methods of literary expression, where the most severe external, formal requirements exist. Humorous fragments are composed in the form of parodies of a scholarly tract, newspaper article, dictionary, memoirs. In some cases, such a genre parody (as natu- rally as parodies of individual authors) has the character of a literary polemic, but more often it acts as a means of formal streamlining of verbal material for a wide va- riety of humorous purposes. Short story took a strong position in American literature of the XIX century. American writer Bret Hart even said that the short story is "the na- tional genre of American literature" [Tugusheva M., 1972; 38]. However, one cannot assume that interest in the novel was the exclusive privilege of the Americans. Quite 46 2020 Vol. 32 No. 2 Series: Literature Critical Studies successfully, the short story () developed in Europe. The failure of American literature to create a great social novel in the XIX century is explained, firstly, by its unpreparedness, lack of historical experience and unwillingness to perceive it in Eu- ropean literature and, secondly, by the significant objective difficulties that any artist’s social reality “shrouded in a fog of immature economic relations” presents for the artist’s understanding (Engels). A great critical-realistic novel appears in the USA, but with a significant delay. American literature in each generation puts forward outstanding storytellers like E. Poe, M. Twain, or J. London. A form of a short entertaining narrative becomes typi- cal of American literature. One of the reasons for the prosperity of the short story is the swiftness of life in America at that time, as well as the "journalism" of American literature. A short story still plays a noticeable role in American life, and therefore in literature of the XIX century. The main component of the short story is “American humor”. The humorous everyday descriptive short story of the 30s is formed mainly on folklore soil. A significant element of American folklore was the oral work of Afro- Americans, who brought with them the traditions of the African primitive epos ("Tales of Uncle Remus" by Joel Harris) [Baturin S., 1979; 302]. A typical feature of American short stories is the construction of the story, where a sharpened plot is necessarily present, leading to a paradoxical, unexpected ending. The advantages of a short story by E. Poe, as well as its size, makes reading possible at once, i.e. not to lose the integrity of the impression, which is impossible in the case of the novel. The novella also plays an outstanding role in the art of American romanti- cism (Poe, , and Melville). In the 60-70s, the development of was associated with the names of such writers as Bret Hart, M.Twain, etc [Zasurskiy Ya., 1984; 432]. Their main is public and private relations on colonized lands. One of the most strik- ing works of this period is Bret Hart's “California Tales”. In the XX century a short story no longer plays such an important role in Ameri- can literature as in the XIX century; a realistic novel replaces it. Nevertheless, all the novelists continue to pay considerable attention to this genre, and a number of promi- nent American prose writers devote themselves primarily or exclusively to it. One of them is O. Henry (William Sidney Porter), who made an attempt to chart a different path for the American short story, as if "by " the already clearly de- fined critical-realistic direction. O. Henry can also be called the founder of the Ameri- can happy end (which was present in most of his stories), which subsequently will be very successfully used in American running . Despite the sometimes not very flattering reviews about his work, it is one of the important and turning points in the development of the American story of the XX century. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, American humor developed primarily within the framework of newspaper and journalism. The main forms are the short story and the column of the browser. In those years, the short story was an indis- pensable attribute of periodicals and performed peculiar functions in them: offering entertainment “on the last page”, the publishers had reasons to hope that at the same 47 Series: Literature Critical Studies 2020 Vol. 32 No. 2 time other materials, including commercial ones, would not be left without attention. The newspaper and magazine frameworks imposed their demands on “little prose”: Its brevity, a clear and fascinating plot, should have distinguished the novella and, if possible, an unexpected ending. One of the idols of the readership of the beginning of the twentieth century in America was O. Henry. A master of fascinating intrigue, an unsurpassed specialist in unpredictable endings, he brought the short story to such perfection that the type began to seem exhausted to many. Subsequently, during the years of his fascination with Sherwood Anderson and E.Hemingway, O.Henry was criticized for the one-dimensional character, conventionality of plot conflicts, and abuse of unexpected endings [History of American Literature. Vol.2., 1971; 122]. It should not be forgotten that O. Henry was one of the first in the US literature to pay attention to the fate of “a small man in a big city”; he did it with talent and sympathy for his characters. In addition, O. Henry went down into literary history as a man with an amazing instinct for the paradoxical in the ordinary, inviting readers to reflect on the various tricks of fate. His short stories, which seemingly do not pretend to depth and complexity, often delight with subtle judgments about the features of hu- man nature, acquire philosophical character, precisely because they offer to look at the world around with humor, which by its nature is a kind of philosophizing. In the 10s – 20s of the twentieth century, the genre of a satirical and humorous column of a daily newspaper (or weekly magazine) finally was formed and flourished. Such a column usually had one permanent author (usually signed with a pseudonym), who shared his impressions with readers about what he read, commented on the lat- est news, stated his thoughts on topical issues, amused himself with aphorisms, and composed various humors and parodies. Among the most famous in those years were the daily columns in the New York newspapers of Christopher Morley in the Evening Sun, Franklin Pierce Adams in the Tribune, Don Marquise in the Sun, and then in the Herald Tribune. The activity of Henry Louis Mencken played a very important role in satirical journalism of that time. In the 30s, “pure humor” flourished, and at the same time, the literature of social satire gained scope. Among the works of J.Thurber, which brought him wide popularity in America and England, the story “The Private (Secret) Life of Walter Mitty” should be noted. He is not only a regular participant in the of American "little prose" – references to it can often be found in the works of sociologists on the problem of personality in society. At first glance, this short story is a funny story about a sweet and quiet eccentric person living a boring, measured life of an average American and deep down in his heart. American satire is original. It is born along with literature itself; even Benjamin Franklin in "The Sale of Hessians" (1777) acted as a satirist; satirical genres owned and Thomas Payne, and Cooper, and Poe [Literary History of USA. Vol.3., 1979; 326]. The US satire has its roots in folk humor, in the folklore of the “wild” West, which is characterized by the emphasized grotesque images and a tendency to noisy escapades. 48 2020 Vol. 32 No. 2 Series: Literature Critical Studies

The contrasts of capitalism, the pursuit of profit, corruption and demagogy of the arbiters of the fate of American society very quickly became the object of a satiri- cal image in America. Satirists, many of whom came to literature, having accumulated rich experience in the newspaper, widely used forms such as a pamphlet anda a sarcastic , were not afraid of hyperbolism and purely caricatured tricks. Satirists of the 1920s and 1930s are also interesting, such as Robert Benchley, who ridiculed vulgar deception and especially James Thurber, the creator of the char- acteristic figure of Mr. Mitty, an “average”, timid American who is overshadowed by life of wonderful . CONCLUSION Such literary scholars as J. Bier, F. O`Connor, and especially L. Feinberg em- phasized a rather high level of satire and the intensity of exposing the vices of the bourgeois world. Satire in the United States developed very intensively. The atmosphere of the first post-war years in the United States did not favor satire. However, traditions continued to live, being filled with new content: in satiri- cal works of the 50s in a grotesque-pointed form appeared the features of a "mass society", dehumanized and impersonal. The contradictions of this society, its contrasts provided rich material for satire, predetermining the variety of its forms, from the “cosmic” grotesque at Bradbury and Asimov to the subtle, riddled with psy- chology of Cheever. Some traditional methods for American satire are undergoing evolution. The artistic means used by the masters of American satire are diverse. Here, and notorious cartoon, and psychological analysis with a satirical tint, and grotesque, and el- ements of "wild humor". Writers use hyperbole, satire, and parody to express their nega- tive attitude towards capitalist America. In satirical short stories, all aspects of American life are mercilessly ridiculed: politics, law, religion, journalism, and literature.

REFERENCES 1. Bier. J. The Rise and Fall of American Humor. –N. Y., Chicago, San-Francisco: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1968.-506 p. 2. Baturin S. Portraits of American Writers. – М.: Fiction, 1979.- 422 p. 3. Dmitrieva N. Heuristic role of humor. “Theater”, 1977, No. 1 p.113-123. 4. Hegel. Aesthetics. Vol. 2. М.: Art, 1969. - 326p. 5. History of American Literature. Vol.2. – М.: Enlightenment, 1971. 6. Literary History of USA. Vol.3. – М.: Progress, 1979.- 524 p. 7. Tugusheva M. Modern American Short Story (some features of development). – М: High school, 1972. - 78 p. 8. USA Literature of ХХ century. Experience of Typological Research. – М.: Science, 1978.- 568 p. 9. Zasurskiy Ya. American literature of ХХ century. – М.: МSU, 1984.- 439 p.

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FOYDALANILGAN ADABIYOTLAR 1. Bir J., /Vzlyot i padeniye Amerikanskogo yumora. – Nyu York, Chikago, San-Fransisko: Хоlt, Raynxart I Vinston, 1968.-506 s. 2. Baturin S. Portreti amerikanskix pisateley. – М.: Хud. Lit, 1979. - 422 s. 3. Dmitriyeva N. Evristicheskaya rol yumora. Теаtr - М., 1977 - № l.- s. 113-123. 4. Hegel Georg. Estetika. Тоm 2. М.: Iskusstvo, 1969. - 326 s. 5. Istoriya amerikanskoy literaturi. Т.2. – М.: Prosvesheneye, 1971. 6. Literatura SSHA ХХ vekа. Opit tipologicheskogo issledovaniya. – М.: Nauka, 1978.- 413 s. 7. Tugusheva М. Sovremennaya amerikanskaya novella (nekotoriye cherty razvitiya)– М.: Visshaya shkola, 1972.- 78 s. 8. SSHA-Literaturnaya istoriya. Т.3. – М.: Progress, 1979. - 524 s. 9. Zasurskiy Ya. Аmerikanskaya literatura ХХ veka. – М.: МGU, 1984. - 439 s.

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